


I Guess It's Been A While

by CandiedClassics



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Let them grieve dammit, M/M, New Year's Eve, Other, Post Season 4, Self-Reflection, just a teaspoon, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 09:39:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13245522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CandiedClassics/pseuds/CandiedClassics
Summary: A year has passed since team Voltron left earth and became the universe's greatest defenders.To make up for every holiday they've missed, they decide to host a party to bring in the New Year.But despite the festivities, the ache of longing for what they've left behind still lingers in everyone's hearts.Luckily, they're never truly alone as long as they have eachother.





	I Guess It's Been A While

**Author's Note:**

> A year out in space. A year fighting Zarkon. A year away from Earth.
> 
> A year away from home.

 

            “So uh….what exactly are we looking at here?”

            The bridge had been silent for a full minute now as everyone stared wide-eyed at the magenta holographic banner that had suddenly projected itself from the main control panel. It read something in large Altean letters and had a sparkle to it that reminded Lance of pop-up ads he’d often seen on his laptop, announcing he was the winner of some random scam.

            “It’s…it’s the deca-pheobler….” Allura said, her voice sounding oddly wistful, almost to the level of remorse. Lance was concerned about what exactly that meant but before he could ask, Coran filled in.

            “It is a special sort beacon or alarm that goes off once a full deca-pheob has passed.” He explained, twiddling his mustache in that very know-it-all fashion of his.

            “Right…and a deca-pheob is how long exactly?” Lance asked, directing the question to where Pidge was seated in her paladin command chair.

            “We’ve been through this before. It’s around the Earth equivalent of a year. Possibly a bit longer.” She explained, mirroring Coran’s know-it-all habit with her own by pushing up her glasses.

            “Seeing as there is no real way to tell when the deca-pheob cycle started…I’m assuming it began when you paladins arrived and brought the castle back into functioning order.” Coran explained.

            This set off a new wave of silence in the room and after a minute, it seemed that Lance was the only one brave enough to fill it.

            “So…we’ve been out here for a year?” his voice sounded a lot more wounded than he had meant for it to, but thankfully no one cast him any pitying looks.

            Everyone was too busy reeling in the flood of shock and disbelief that was filling the bridge.

            A year out in space. A year fighting Zarkon. A year away from Earth.

            A year away from home.

            “Yeah I guess…wow it really has been a year.” Hunk said, seemingly more in awe of this than anything.

            “I suppose it’s easy to lose track of such things out here. We’ve had to focus on defeating Zarkon more than anything. I never even thought about how much time must be passing…” Allura admitted, turning to Coran with a sympathetic smile. “I suppose we would have missed the Juniberry Festival this year.”

            Coran smiled sadly at the memories only he and the princess shared, the unspoken loss of their planet still a sore wound.

            “Yes not to mention the Yelorian Quintant! That’s always a fun one.” He added.

            “Or the Oumu Eve. That was my favorite…”

            The talk of what must have been Altean holidays made Lance think back to every big day he’d missed on Earth.

            There was Valentines Day…the thought of his little sister Ari making cards for her class all by herself, without the aid of her big brother to write in all his best pick up lines, made his chest throb with a dull ache.

            Not to mention the yearly Espinosa reunion, when family from all over Central America and the United States would come together and they would have a giant cook out on Veradero beach that smelled so good it made the neighbors jealous.

            And Christmas…that one hurt the most. He’d never been away from home on Christmas before. He didn’t even want to think about the lasting memories he’d missed making this year.

            Lance swallowed to try and clear the sudden tightness in his throat and shake himself out of his slump. He needed to focus on something else.

            Instinctively, he turned to see what Keith must have been feeling about all of this, only to be met with a gaping emptiness where the other paladin usually stood beside him.

            Right.

            Keith had left a few days ago to go on another mission with the Blade.

            Keith wasn’t with their team anymore.

            “Man…I guess Matt and I missed Hanukah this year…” Pidge mumbled, making the Earthlings in the room perk up at the mention of something they were more familiar with.

            “Yeah, not to mention our birthdays. I guess we wouldn’t really have a way of knowing when they were…” Hunk pointed out.

            Shiro came over to them, stepping away from where Allura and Coran had sat on the edge of the center platform to talk about Altean celebrations and joining the rest of his team.

            “I feel a little guilty, I never really thought about it either. I’ve been away from Earth for two years now…time sort of lost all meaning after the first. I guess I got used to it. But for you guys…”

            Pidge, Hunk and Lance all shared a sad look, more sad silence injecting itself into the air.

            “Well, why don’t we celebrate all now?”

            Everyone looked up and over at Lance who’d only just realized he’d said that out loud. He blushed and cleared his throat, attempting to backpedal a bit.

            “I mean we aren’t exactly busy at the moment. Lotor is with the Olkari while we work everything out and we just took back a third of the Galra Empire. I think we kinda deserve a break, don’t you?”

            It had only been a week since the near catastrophe that had been Naxzela occurred and so far, everything seemed to have come to a stand still.

            The Galra had taken a nasty blow and been forced to pull back once more. Lotor had proposed something of an alliance that the team was skeptical to take him up on, but were allowing him to stay on Olkarion to at least hide out from the Galra pursuing him. It was a recovery period and while there was still much to do, they could afford to step away and take a breather.

            “What are you suggesting?” Shiro asked and Lance noticed that even Allura and Coran were staring at him in interest.

            He grinned and threw his hands in the air.

            “A party! Duh! If we missed a bunch of Altean and Earth holidays, and all our birthdays, then it makes sense to just celebrate everything at once. It’ll be a way to kick off the new year! Or new deca-pheob I guess…?”

            There were a few nods of agreement and Lance noticed that everyone was suddenly smiling again. He could feel the tightness in his chest ebbing away to be replaced with a sense of hope and happiness that almost felt foreign after all the recent stress.

            “I think that’s a great idea, Lance. It’ll be good to try and take a break and reflect on how far we’ve come.” Shiro said and Lance flushed from the praise.

            “When should we do it?” Hunk asked and this time, Allura was the one with the answers.

            “Well we have a meeting with the Verpa Alignment tomorrow and then a series of visits to the recovering planets to offer aid…we’re going to be a bit busy for the next several quintants.” She admitted regrettably.

            “Then lets do it tonight.” Lance really needed to think before speaking but his excitement was getting the better of him. He just couldn’t seem to stop.

            “Tonight?” The room exchanged looks and Allura seemed hesitant to agree. “That’s a little bit last minute. I’m not sure we would be able to prep the castle in time. Not to mention where we would host it…”

            “Well actually…” Coran jumped in and suddenly swiped his hand through the air to pull up a familiar star map. “We’re only a few systems from the planet Olkarion. We could land the castle there and invite the refugees in for a little bit of mingling.”

            “As long as we have better security this time, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea” Shiro agreed. Pidge stood up with her hands on her hips and grinned.

            “Well if we’re doing this, I guess we should make a plan. Who’s in charge of what?”

            “Well I definitely don’t trust anyone to make weird alien food taste awesome except Hunk.” Lance declared and the yellow paladin looked more than a little anxious.

            “Making enough food for hundreds of alien refugees in less than four hours…no pressure.” Hunk mumbled but seemed to agree with Lance’s logic nonetheless. “I guess I can make it work but I don’t exactly have enough ingredients for that kind of crowd.” He pointed out.

            Lance grinned and threw an arm around his shoulder.

            “Leave that to me buddy. We’ll need to go shopping for decorations anyways, I can pick up anything you need so you can get straight to whipping up something awesome.” Hunk smiled at that.

            “Alright I’ll make a list. What about the rest of you guys?”

            Pidge shrugged.

            “Matt and I can help buy the decorations and stuff. Matt hasn’t been to the space mall yet and I’ve been meaning to show him around.”

            “I suppose I should take the time to talk to the refugees and see if they have any interest in joining us. I can go to Olkarion and talk to Ryner to make preparations.” Allura filled in and Shiro nodded along.

            “I’ll help the princess and make sure the castle is secure so we don’t run into any problems like last time.”

            “Well I guess that leaves cleaning the castle up to me! Things have been a bit hectic lately and I want it to be spic and span for our guests.” Coran said with a confident hand on his hip.

            “Lance, what’ll you be doing?” Lance looked up when Hunk turned to him, the rest of the room following suit. Geez he couldn’t remember the last time everyone had given him this much attention at once.

            “Me? I’ll be supervising you guys! It was my idea so that means I have to make sure everything goes smoothly!” He boasted. No one seemed to have any argument against this so Allura stepped back up to the center control platform and pulled up the coordinates for the space mall.

            “Well, let’s get started.”

 -------------------------------------------

            “Blumipo…wha?”

            Pidge watched as Lance turned Hunk’s grocery list this way and that in every attempt to better understand the words on the page.

            They had just arrived at the space mall and while Lance had been given the job to hunt down Hunk’s ingredients, Pidge was in charge of finding things that could be considered New Year's Eve decorations, or as close as they could get. And likewise, Matt was there with them.

            Well he had been. But looking around, Pidge could already see her brother hanging over the guardrails and watching the shoppers below with an excited sparkle in his eyes that made her chuckle. He really hadn’t changed a bit.

            “Where exactly am I supposed to go for all this stuff?”

            Pidge looked back towards Lance and went over to a nearby screen that seemed to be projecting the mall’s map.

            “Shops selling edible goods are typically kept on the west side.” She explained, gesturing to the color-coded areas and the little green symbol over one wing that looked like a happy face with its tongue stuck out. Lance looked between his list and the map and nodded. “Okay...looks like you guys will be on the other side…. oh geez, this place is huge. What if I get lost or something?”

            “Let's meet back here in a varga. Whatever we don’t have by then we can try and find together.” It seemed like a solid plan and Lance grinned and agreed.

            “Alright, see you guys in a varga! Make sure you find stuff that’s sparkly! It isn’t New Years without glitter!” Lance advised before quickly turning and walking off, only for Pidge to stop him.

            “Lance, west side!”

            “Ah- right!” He turned and started running in the opposite direction and Pidge vaguely wondered if they should have stuck together instead.

            “Matt, come on, we gotta move!” Pidge called, reigning in her older brother who still wore the expression of a kid in a candy store.

            “This is insane! I had no clue there even _was_ a space mall!” He gushed after jogging to catch up with his sister who was walking towards the eastern wing in search of one store in particular.

            “Well it’s Galra owned so I doubt any rebel legions would be making their supply run through here.” She pointed out, to which Matt nodded, still unable to keep his eyes from traveling in every direction as they walked.

            They took an escalator down to the lower levels and sure enough, it only took Pidge a minute to spot the small store full of Earth oddities she’d visited last time.

            “This place sells a bunch of Earth stuff, we might be able to find some party hats or something.” Pidge waved for her brother to follow and the two entered the store and began to look around.

            Decoration shopping was a good excuse but Pidge mostly had wanted to bring Matt in so he could at least catch a glimpse of home. It had been refreshing for her and Lance, getting to peruse things that were more familiar to them and she imagined after two years away in space, Matt was probably a little starved for some sight of Earth as well.

            “Hello there, interested in the latest Earth accessories?” A familiar grey alien addressed the two of them almost as soon as they entered. His voice was as bored as ever, but his expression was slightly hopeful. Pidge noted that the shop was just as empty of customers as it had been before.

            “Actually, we were wondering if you had things for Earth parties. Like streamers or balloons, maybe some fireworks?” God knows where they would launch fireworks, but Pidge would be damned for not trying to get her hands on some. It was a Holt family tradition to light fireworks every New Year's Eve.

            “Ah yes I recognize you, you’re the small one from before.” The shop owner noted, and Pidge held back a rather snarky retort. They were short on time and she knew if she picked a fight, Matt was more likely to encourage her than try to calm her down.

            “I don’t have anything on display, but I may have something in the back. Give me a moment….” The grey alien went through a door behind the check-out counter and Pidge glanced back to see where Matt had gone off too.

            The shop was pretty small, but Pidge still had to wander a bit before finally stumbling on her brother who was looking over the wide selection of Earth tech available.

            “Most of this is outdated but it’s amazing how they managed to get ahold of all this stuff. They even have the BlipPhone 6 and ComPad 18! Most of it’s not even unpackaged!” Matt gushed with awe in his voice that Pidge couldn’t help but find endearing.

            “You know, this is actually where I got the Mercury Gameflux and Killbot Phantasm 1. They probably have more games around here somewhere…”

            Matt turned to her, eyes wide in excitement and a grin spread across his face.

            “Are you serious?! No way, we have to find them!”

            The two of them immediately launched into a swift search of the store that ended when they stumbled upon a small bookshelf in the back that was lined with unopened retro games, most of which fit their current console. It was a veritable jackpot if Pidge had ever seen one, and Matt and her could have cried at the sight alone.

            Then Pidge remembered the hassle her and Lance had gone through last time they had tried to buy a video game. Sure, the system had been more expensive but even then, they didn’t have that kind of time to search the fountain again. She took the small wad of GAC Coran had given them and counted through the bills.

            “If we cut it right we may be able to afford the decorations and one new game. Which one are you thinking?” She asked, noticing how Matt was hunched over and analyzing the spines of each game case intensely.

            He stood up suddenly when he’d made his choice and presented it to his sister for her approval. Pidge observed the cover which depicted a group of five brightly colored space aliens and an evil warlock in the background

            “Hmm CosmaQuest 3…truly the best game in the series.” She said with the tone of someone appraising an old relic. She grinned at her brother and gave a thumbs up. “We’ll get it. If it’s too expensive I can try to cut a deal with the shop guy. Last time he gave us a cow free with purchase!”

            Pidge turned to walk back towards the counter but didn’t fail to miss Matt’s soft mumble of 'That’s how you got the cow???' as he followed.

            The shop owner was back at the front already and had filled up the counter with all sorts of familiar Earth party goods. Granted, most of them were pretty dusty, and Pidge doubted they would find much use in a ‘Happy 85th Birthday’ balloon, but it was still an impressive haul.

            With a bit of help from Matt, the two of them managed to assemble a good stock of silver and gold streamers, some old confetti poppers that Pidge could only hope still worked, some classic noise makers, a few balloons with assorted phrases on them and finally, their game.

            It cost pretty much all of their GAC, but at least they had enough décor to cover the bridge and the main foyer and Lance certainly wouldn’t be complaining about having a new game to play after Matt had already beaten the one they had.

            They had checked out and just finished bagging up the items when Pidge noticed one measly box of sparklers sitting on the far corner of the counter. It was the closest thing to a firework on the table, so she wasn’t about to let it slip away.

            The shop owner hadn’t seemed too attached to the sparklers, claiming them to be very obnoxious and inconvenient light sources, and had thrown in the box free of charge.

            The Holt siblings left the Earth store with a big haul and even bigger smiles. They still had a little time to kill, so Pidge suggested they chill by the fountain for a bit. The two sat down and Matt took out the game box while Pidge took out the sparklers, both looking over the items in silence.

            Pidge thought back to the first time she had ever lit sparklers with Matt. She’d initially been scared of the fire and the brightness, but once she realized how cool they were, she had ended up chasing Matt around the yard with three in each hand.

            It had been so much fun and definitely worth it despite how their mother had scolded her after for nearly setting her brother on fire.

            Mom….

            “Do you ever think about Mom?” Pidge realized the moment she spoke that they were delving into something she had been trying to ignore for a while now. Matt set the game down and looked over at Pidge, the earlier sparkle in his eyes replaced with something painful.

            “All the time.” He admitted. Matt’s voice was thick with remorse and Pidge was starting to regret ever bringing this up. “Before you left…were you able to…?” Her heart clenched when she realized what he was asking, and she could only silently shake her head. “I see…”

            Pidge swallowed the lump in her throat and tried desperately to keep the burning tears at bay.

            “I feel so guilty…all the time. She’s all alone and doesn’t know where we are. She was already suffering after you and Dad and now…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence, hunching over and gripping the box of sparklers hard enough to make the cardboard crumple.

            Matt put his arm around her and Pidge leaned into him, taking comfort in her brother's presence. She had missed this kind of closeness and familiarity the other paladins just couldn’t offer.

            “It isn’t your fault Katie.” He said softly, gently patting her head in reassurance. “No one could have predicted any of this. But we have a job to do now. We’re doing this to protect her, and all of Earth. You know she would understand.”

            She nodded.

            He was right. Their mother was strong willed and hard headed; Pidge had inherited her stubbornness. Just like her, she knew Colleen Holt wouldn’t give up hope that her family was still alive out there.

            And once she learned what had kept them all away for so long, she would forgive them.

            That still didn’t make the ache any less prominent at the knowledge their mother had spent every holiday this year alone. Pidge stared at the crumpled box of sparklers and sighed.

            When she got home, she would buy enough sparklers for every New Years she'd missed. And her family would burn them together.

            “Lance…?”

            Pidge looked up when her brother spoke and sure enough, Lance was walking towards them from the same direction they had just come from, each arm loaded down with an assortment of heavy looking bags. He had been peering into one of them, eyeing the contents of which Pidge couldn’t discern, but looked up and grinned when Matt got his attention.

            “Hey—looks like we got done early! Let's notify Coran so the castle can pick us up!” he said and Pidge stood, wiping away the remnants of her grief on her sleeve.

            “Lance, guess what Pidge and I found?” Matt presented their new video game and Lance’s face lit up as the group walked back towards the escalators.

            “No way! CosmaQuest 3? Dude, that one’s my favorite!” Pidge watched as Lance and Matt walked on ahead, laughing about something she couldn’t quite hear. Matt’s smile still looked the same despite all of the new scars on his face.

            Scars that he wore with pride.

            And she knew their mom would be proud of those scars too.

 -------------------------------------------

            Shiro felt he had just cause to be a little bit paranoid.

            After all, the last time the castle had hosted an event where people could just freely enter and leave, Lance had almost died and they’d almost lost all of the Voltron lions.

            So, call him crazy, but he didn’t think it was unreasonable to triple check the castle’s security once they had landed on Olkarion. Allura had already gone out to talk to Ryner about the plans, and to make sure Prince Lotor would be kept as far away from the party as possible that night.

            She seemed to be faring well enough on her own, so once Shiro had walked the perimeter of the castle, he decided to go inside and check things out on the bridge.

            With all of their fighting recently, there was some relief in being by himself and getting the chance to take a breath. Walking the castle halls with only his thoughts to accompany him was therapeutic and he imagined the others were probably taking advantage of the reprieve as well.

            Of course, getting suddenly plowed over by the Holt siblings was just a _slight_ disruption.

            The moment he opened the doors to the bridge he was met with the sight of Matt staggering backwards towards him with Pidge on his shoulders. Shiro had a split second to react, using one arm to catch Pidge around the waist as she fell and grasping Matt’s shoulder with the other.

            Both siblings let out a relieved sigh when they managed to avoid face planting with the floor.

            “Any reason you two look ready for a chicken fight?” he asked, a lilt of amusement in his voice. Matt stood up straight and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly

            “I was helping Pidge reach the top of the Lion elevators so we could put up streamers, but I kinda lost my balance.”

            “I think I’d much rather rely on a ladder.” Pidge grumbled irritably, standing up on her own two feet again before turning to the black paladin. “Thanks Shiro. How are things with the Olkari?” Pidge picked up the streamers she’d dropped in her initial panic and began to look for a better, more reachable place to start hanging them.

            “Allura is talking to them now. We should know how big the guest list is going to be in the next hour or so. How was the shopping trip? Did you find any fireworks?”

            Shiro had known Matt for a while, so he was familiar with a few of the Holt family traditions. The elder of the two siblings looked back at him with a slightly disappointed expression.

            “No. We got sparklers, but there’s only eight in the box. That makes about one per person.” Shiro gently pat Matt on the shoulder in a comforting gesture, his expression genuinely sympathetic.

            “I guess we’ll just have to make some new family traditions this year.”

            “Did you have any?” Shiro looked up, eyebrows raised at Pidge’s question.

            “Any what?” he asked as he went over and took the streamers from her, hanging one at the fixed point she’d been staring at with a bit of sticky goo they were using as tape. Since he was tall enough to reach higher than either of the siblings, he opted to follow her around the room and assist in the remaining decorating.

            “Traditions. Stuff you did with your family for New Years.”

            Shiro had to think about that for a moment. He hadn’t exactly been around his family in a long time.

            “Well, celebrating New Years is a little different in Japan. There are a lot of traditions, but most often I would go pray at a shrine with my grandparents where we’d have our fortunes told. Mine were always pretty unlucky.” He smiled fondly at the memories as well as the irony of it all. If there was anyone who was fated to have bad luck, it seemed to be him.

            “But you never went home for the holidays when we were at the Garrison.” Matt pointed out, handing Shiro some more sticky goo for another streamer.

            “My parents died when I was still a kid. And my grandparents passed before I came to the Garrison. So I never really had much to return to.” Despite his sad past, Shiro wasn’t bitter. He really missed Japan sometimes, but he’d long since gotten over his grief.

            He’d coped by investing all of his time and energy into being the best student he could be at the Garrison, and it had paid off.

            Well. ‘Had’ being the key word there.

            “Geez…I wish you’d told me. We would have been happy to have you, you know.” Matt pointed out and Shiro smiled.

            “Thanks. I know…but I wasn’t really alone.”

            Matt was confused, but Pidge seemed to know exactly what he meant.

            “You had Keith.”

            Shiro nodded.

            “He reminded me a lot of myself when I saw him in the Garrison’s pre-admission training program. He was there because he had nowhere else to go and wanted to prove himself. We got to know each other, and when I learned he didn’t have anyone to spend the holidays with, I figured I would stay. We’d usually go to his home in the desert on New Years eve and cook out over a bonfire.”

            “Sounds close enough to a tradition to me.” Pidge pointed out, and Shiro couldn’t argue with that. He and Keith had spent the past three New Years together, minus his year in Galra captivity. They’d both sort of gotten used to having the other’s company.

            “I guess so.” Shiro recalled the New Years eves spent around the fire and the way Keith would talk about his father and his life in the desert. He never seemed to remember much but what he did recall, he did so with a fond smile. Shiro knew how badly Keith must have ached to find his parents again, now that he’d been given the chance to.

            He just wasn’t sure if the Blade of Marmora were really the ones to help him with that sort of thing.

            Shiro was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of the bridge door opening, and he looked over to see Lance hurrying in and sitting down at the Red Lion’s command chair. He didn’t even look up at them as he synced his phone to the console with one of the adaptor cables and started to skim through something on a screen that popped up right after.

            It was strange to see him so quiet and focused.

            “Lance, aren’t you supposed to be helping us set up?” Pidge chimed in before Shiro had the chance to say anything. Lance looked up from the console and seemed genuinely surprised to find that he wasn’t alone.

            “Yeah I will- just gimme one sec Pidge.” he assured, and the green paladin huffed and rolled her eyes before reluctantly getting back on Matt’s shoulders to put the last bit of streamer up. The siblings seemed to have everything under control and were a bit more balanced, so Shiro went over to the black command chair to pull up the castle’s security map, looking over his shoulder at Lance who was staring at a loading bar that was half filled on his screen.

            “How’s everything going with the party?”

            “What?” Lance looked up again, and Shiro was a little concerned at how out of focus he seemed to be.

            “You’re the supervisor, aren’t you? I thought you might want to know if everything’s coming together.” He pointed out.

            Lance smiled, but it was small and a bit forced.

            “Yeah things are looking great. Hunk’s already got full platters of food ready. It smells awesome!” he said, glancing back to his screen where the loading bar seemed to have filled up completely. He unplugged his phone quickly and turned off the console before standing and going over to the black paladin.

            “Actually Shiro, I need you to deliver this to him for me. I have to go talk to Allura about something.” He took a small pouch of brown powder out of his back pocket and set it in the other's hand.

            “Its one of the spices he had me get, I forgot to give it to him. It would be really great if you could get it to the kitchen before he realizes it’s not there.” Shiro noticed the other paladin distractedly checking the time on his phone and looking at the door. Whatever Lance was focused on that wasn’t the party, it seemed important.

            Shiro wouldn’t question him about it.

            “Of course. I’ll take it to him now.”

            “Thanks! You’re awesome Shiro!” He announced and quickly jogged out of the bridge.

            Shiro smiled after him, absently wondering if there was any way they could make a bonfire that night.

  -------------------------------------------

            “Where is the ghluto powder!?”

            Hunk dug through every pouch, jar and bottle of spice he’d managed to collect in his year out in space and felt a rising panic when he realized there wasn’t a single bag of the one he needed in sight.

            “Perhaps we can use an available substitute?” Coran offered, standing off to the side and out of the way of Hunk’s current rampage through the kitchen.

            The two of them had been cooking constantly for well over three hours now after Hunk had abruptly made Coran his sous chef in a desperate attempt to cut his prep time down. Even if he was a master chef, he was still only one man and Coran was the only person in the castle with some knowledge of alien recipes.

            “There is no substitute! Ghluto powder is the only thing out here that tastes exactly like coconut!” Hunk lamented, beginning to scrounge through the bowls of different alien fruit as if expecting to find the spice sprouting from one of the stems like a blessing from the ancients. “I won’t be able to make Pani Popo without it and it isn’t New Years without Pani Popo!”

            “Pan-ee…Popo? I’m afraid I’m unfamiliar with such a dish…”

            Hunk sighed and finally seemed to give up his search, his head hanging in disappointment as he went to check the trays of space pizza rolls and space ravioli in the oven.

            “It’s a dish my mother used to make me. It’s unique to Samoa, the part of earth where I come from.” He explained, dialing up the heat a bit before turning to the opposite counter that had trays of their finished appetizers already laid out on top. He began to carefully plate each one of them with Coran mirroring him to make sure it was done correctly.

            “It’s a sweet bread with coconut in it. Coconut is an island fruit…and she would drizzle honey over it or even caramel sometimes…it was delicious! Just the perfect amount of sweetness on rich fluffy bread…” His face took on a near dreamy expression as it often did when he thought back to the food from Earth he missed so dearly.

            But even more than Pani Popo, he missed his mother.

            His gaze fell as he continued to plate the bowls of chips and dip he’d made, his pace slowed by the weight of his longing.

            “We would make big batches of it every New Year and give them out to the neighbors. My Mom’s really generous like that but it was also a way to advertise her bakery. We always got big orders for Pani Popo after the New Year. No coincidence there.” He chuckled to himself.

            Of all the things he missed about his Mom, he ached to cook beside her more than anything. He wondered if her bakery was still open and doing okay. He hoped she wouldn’t give up making her delicious sweets without him there.

            He wouldn’t be able to take it if the world lost the best chef in its history because of him.

            “Well, your mother sounds like quite the lady. And while I don’t know what hon-ee or car-mel are, this Pan-ee Popo does sound delicious. Still, you must be able to have New Years without it. It seems a bit trivial to base a celebration over a single dish.” Coran said, ever trying to be the logical wise old guy.

            Hunk shook his head.

            “It’s not that, it’s just—“

            “A tradition?”

            Hunk looked up as Shiro walked through the doors of the kitchen, a kind smile ever present on his features.

            “Yeah it—Is that what I think it is?!?” Hunk’s focus was immediately drawn to the pouch in Shiro’s hand and he nearly jumped over the counter in his haste to get to it. Shiro held out the bag for Hunk to take.

            “Lance asked me to deliver it, he said he forgot to drop it off with the rest of the ingredients.”

            “Oh thanks god…you’ve saved New Years Shiro!” Hunk quickly took the bag of ghluto powder back to the kitchen counter and measured out several spoonfuls into a bowl.

            “I didn’t mean to be eaves dropping…but this Pani Popo, it’s really important to you, isn’t it?”

            Hunk smiled as he began to pour in milk and crack some green speckled eggs into the bowl as well.

            “It’s what made New Years special. I was always an anxious kid. Surprising, I know.” He and Shiro shared a small chuckle at that as Hunk began to whisk together the ingredients with the precision only someone as skilled as he could pull off. “I was always worried about what the New Year would bring. Whether I would get bad grades, or burn something in the kitchen again…but I knew that if I could at least eat my mom’s Pani Popo then everything would be okay. She always said the best way to start off a good year was with good food.”

            Shiro smiled.

            “In that case, then I guess this year will be fantastic.”

            The compliment to his cooking made Hunk blush and he mumbled a shy thanks before he busily began to set some water and sugar to boil to make caramel and instructed Coran to keep plating the food. They only had about an hour more to prepare everything.

            Shiro bid them farewell and opened the kitchen door to leave only to jump back when Lance suddenly stumbled in. Hunk paused in his preparations to eye his fellow paladin who was noticeably breathless.

            “H-hey- Coran I need you for something!” He choked out and Hunk looked between his sous chef and his friend.

            “I kinda need Coran to help me make the food. Will it take long?”

            Lance shook his head still struggling to catch his breath with one hand on the doorway and the other on his chest. Shiro stood off to the side looking a little confused and concerned. Hunk couldn’t say he didn’t share the sentiment.

            “What do you need him for? I thought you said you were going to talk to Allura.” Shiro pointed out only for Lance to wave him off and beckon Coran to follow him.

            “Allura was busy. Need someone Altean.” he explained vaguely.

            Coran set down the food he’d been working with and saluted to Hunk.

            “I’ll return as soon as I can.” With that, the two of them ran out of the room.

            Shiro and Hunk shared a look for a moment before Hunk suddenly offered up a spoon with a tiny bit of batter on it.

            “Wanna taste?”

  -------------------------------------------

            Parties had never really been Allura’s scene.

            Ever since she was a child she’d been forced to attend several different galas and gatherings to show that she was a responsible and reliable princess of her planet.

            They were never that horrible really but if she were being honest, she much preferred to spend her time riding yalmors through the countryside and gazing at the pretty female warriors as they trained.

            Saying she felt out of place at parties now that she had to be a diplomat of all things, was more than an understatement. She couldn’t seem to drain the tension from her posture or look at the arriving refugees with anything but a forced smile that felt more like a grimace.

            It had been ages since she’d been allowed to relax. Ever since she’d become the blue paladin among other things, she’d had a lot on her plate.

            She really should have been taking advantage of the opportunity to socialize and take some time to herself but instead the princess just stood on the balcony overlooking the foyer and greeted guests and other diplomats from the many alien races they’d saved recently as they came up the stairs.

            The party had been in full swing for an hour now and the paladins seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

            Allura watched as Matt flirted with one of the Puigan guests while Pidge showed off a holographic diagram of the Green Lion to a Niloofan, boasting about the many upgrades she’d given it. Shiro refused to move too far from the entrance, ever the vigilant guard, and while Allura felt like it was a bit unnecessary considering the heavy security already enabled on every inch of Olkarion, she appreciated the gesture. It was comforting to know that at least someone had their guard up.

            She could even see Lance down below, sipping on some punch Hunk had made, as he refused to allow Nunvil be served within an inch of his finely prepared horderves. Oddly enough though, unlike Matt, Allura hadn’t noticed him flirting with anyone. In fact, he appeared to be staying out of the way on purpose, lingering more towards the side walls and staring off at the entrance. A few times he mingled but only after someone got his attention. It was really unlike him…

            “Allura?”

            The princess jumped when a hand was placed on her shoulder and immediately turned to see Hunk standing there, a platter of desserts in one hand and a comforting smile on his face.

            “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, I just wanted to know if you wanted to try some Pani Popo?” Hunk held out a toothpick with what Allura noted was a little brown lump stabbed on it. It looked sticky and smelled incredibly sweet and tempting.

            But she felt too anxious to eat.

            “Sorry Hunk, I’m not very hungry.”

            The yellow paladin leaned on the railing beside her and Allura was surprised that she didn’t find the gesture all that intrusive despite her want of privacy. Hunk was just naturally soothing to be around.

            “Are you okay? You don’t really seem to be enjoying yourself.” He pointed out, concern evident in his tone.

            Allura sighed heavily and leaned her chin in her hand as she continued to watch Matt bounce about the room, talking up the guests in a way that was almost more excessive than Lance.

            “I’m not sure I am really. I guess I can’t help but think about all the parties I used to attend where I was just the princess. Before…all of this. I never much liked them even then but they were more enjoyable. I didn’t have to be so focused on….everything.” She knew she wasn’t explaining herself in the best way possible but Hunk seemed to understand all the same.

            “Yeah…I guess you really didn’t have anyone to teach you the ropes for this sort of thing. I mean there’s Coran but…”

            As if on cue, the two of them spotted Coran in the crowd below, wearing his gaudy red cape that appeared to be singing something and making the crowd around him laugh jovially.

            Hunk and Allura both melted into giggles at that. Allura noticed Lance lingering not too far from Coran but he appeared to be lost in thought, not paying the slightest mind to the advisor’s distracting display.

            “Is Lance alright? He seems to be acting strangely.” Allura pointed out and Hunk shrugged.

            “I’m not really sure. Considering this was his idea you’d think he’d be more excited. Lance usually loves parties.”

            Before either of them could say more, they were interrupted by Coran hurrying up the stairs towards them with a large glass bottle in his hands.

            “Allura! Guess what I’ve—oh hold on.” Coran double tapped one shoulder of his cape and it stopped playing whatever random song it had been blasting before. He grinned as he presented the bottle to the princess who offered a skeptical look in return.

            “I managed to procure a bottle of polipberry wine!” He explained and Allura’s eyes instantly widened.

            “Are you being serious Coran? How in the seven cosmoquints did you manage to find one?!”

            Coran smiled brightly and pulled two cups from a passing hover tray, pouring a dose of purple liquid into each before handing them to Hunk and Allura.

            “The Olkari and Alteans have always been amicable trade partners. It seems that when Altea was destroyed, they had enough stock of some of our natural plants to begin farming a few of them here. They have whole groves of polipberries. I must show it to you when we have the time.” Coran’s tone was a bit more wistful and fatherly at the end and Allura returned his smile before looking into her cup and swirling the contents, noticing how the purple liquid contained trace elements of gold in it.

            Just like the wine she remembered.

            She took a long and indulgent sip and when she pulled the cup away she could feel tears at the corners of her eyes.

            “Oh Coran…It’s just like back on Altea.” Coran smiled and passed Allura the rest of the bottle, setting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

            “There is more where that came from. I managed to pull some strings with some of the Olkari farmers and they’ve brought a few cases of wine over for the partygoers to enjoy. Help yourself.”

            Allura took another sip from the sweet and sour wine and wiped at the tears that threatened to stain her cheeks.

            “Thank you Coran.” Allura quickly pulled a cup off another passing serving tray and pouring some wine for her advisor as well. She handed the cup off to Coran and held up her own, Hunk joining her in raising his too.

            “A toast. Not just to a New Year, but to a new age of peace.”

            And the three brought their cups together with a clink.

  -------------------------------------------

            He was a little bit late.

            He’d honestly tried to make it to the party on time but Kolivan had been pretty keen to send him on one last extraction mission before letting him off the hook for the night.

            Keith waded through the sea of tipsy refugees that were wandering out of the castle and made sure to avoid stepping on anyone that had already passed out on the floor. He’d never seen the foyer in such disarray before.

            They really must have gone hard…this party was clearly very different from the one they’d had with the Arusions all that time ago.

            Well, a year ago to be exact.

            Wandering up the halls of the castle gradually showed less and less signs of life. Keith paused in the hall and pushed back the hood of his Marmora suit. It seemed things were already coming to a close and he debated on just returning to his room and getting a good night’s sleep in his own bed while he could.

            He’d been about to turn down the hall towards the living quarters when Allura suddenly appeared in his path.

            “Keith! I didn’t expect t'see you-hic- I- you here!”

            The princess’s speech was noticeably slurred and her cheeks were much darker and flushed that usual. Keith would have been tempted to say she was sick had the obvious smell of alcohol that had been wafting off every guest he’d passed wasn’t coming off her as well.

            “Yes well, I got an invitation. Coran sent a message actually.” He explained and Allura looked deeply confused.

            “Coran? I don’t remember asking him to send any messages…”

            Keith tried not to take that personally, he doubted Allura had intended not to invite him out of malice.

            “It’s alright, I came too late anyways. I think I’m just going to go to bed.” He moved to walk around her but Allura suddenly grabbed his arm.

            “Nonsense! You should at least say hi to the others first. Shiro and Matt are on the bridge I think. Pidge and Hunk are…somewhere…” She looked off into space a bit dazedly and Keith couldn’t help but smile a little. He doubted he would ever get the chance to see Allura act quite so ditzy again.

            “You should probably go to bed, princess.”

            “Excuse me? I’ll do what I want thank you!” She argued huffily before pulling away from Keith and trudging/staggering down the hall off to god knows where.

            Keith chuckled to himself, not too worried about Allura. She could handle herself better than any of them, sober, drunk or otherwise.

            She did have a point though. Keith had only been away for a few days now, but it would be a good idea to at least say hi. He started to walk towards the bridge since that was the only clear location Allura had given him. Seeing Shiro would at least be a comfort. The Blade members weren’t nearly as brotherly with one another as the two of them were.

            Keith was halfway up the main hall to the bridge when he suddenly heard what sounded like…seagulls?

            He paused and looked around, wondering if maybe he was just hearing things. But sure enough, there was a very faint seagull caw again along with voices he didn’t recognize. It didn’t sound quite right. The voices were close by but not quite loud enough for the people to really be _there_.

            Keith followed the sound into one of the side rooms he recognized as the observatory, opening the doors and being greeted by the vastness of space through the large rounded viewing window.

            He took a few steps in and momentarily thought that maybe he’d missed something and he really was alone, until something shifted in front of him.

            Looking out he realized the thing that moved was in fact, a mound of blankets sitting in front of the window, front and center. It took him another moment to realize the mound was also hiccupping and sniffling.

            Keith took a few hesitant steps forward, gathering up more courage with each one till he was standing close enough to the lump to see what looked to be two near empty wine bottles sitting by it and a familiar pair of thin, trigger-skilled hands holding an orange phone just outside of the blankets.

            There was a video playing on the screen.

            The video appeared to be of two kids Keith didn’t recognize running along a beach and chasing seagulls. There was a person laughing behind the camera and Keith’s heart leapt at the sound because it was so undeniably _Lance_.

            He slowly sat down beside the now red paladin and gently reached out to pull the blankets away from his face.

            “Lance…?”

            The sight of the other made Keith feel a sudden wave of grief he wasn’t prepared for.

            Lance’s cheeks were wet with tears that his eyes were still shedding. His cheeks were heavily flushed and judging from the smell coming off of him that was identical to Allura’s, it wasn’t just from the crying.

            He could tell the other had been chewing on his lower lip from how red it was and he was trembling from head to toe with barely contained sobs.

            He’d never seen anyone look this broken before.

            And on Lance, it just felt so _wrong_.

            Before Keith could think of what to do, Lance was pausing the video and feverishly wiping his face with his hands and the blankets.

            “Y-yer late…” he grumbled, his voice thick with tears and emotion that he was trying to stuff back inside himself. Keith was familiar with that, wanting to bury his feelings deep deep down before someone could start pitying him for having them.

            “Yeah…sorry. Kolivan had one more mission for me.” He explained and Lance set his phone aside, pulling his knees to his chest.

            “Course he’ did. Yer always busy.” If Keith didn’t know any better, he’d say that Lance was actually pouting at him.

            “Well yeah, so are you guys. We’re fighting a war you know, we don’t get vacation days.” He pointed out. Lance chuckled at that but it sounded more bitter than amused.

            “Yeah thanks for remind’n me.”

            Silence fell between them for a brief moment and Keith was overwhelmed with the desire to ask Lance what was wrong, to try and get the other to talk to him so he wouldn’t have to see him cry like this ever again.

            But instead, different words fled from his lips before he could stop them, his realization making them impossible to contain.

            “You had Coran send the message.”

            Lance looked up at him, eyebrows raised like that was a dumb observation to make.

            “Yeah, and?”

            “Well Allura didn’t seem to know I was coming. But you did. Does anyone else know you invited me?”

            Lance shrugged.

            “They’ve been busy.”

            So no.

            Keith watched as Lance reached for the wine bottle that was half empty and he instinctually snatched it up to keep it out of his reach. When Lance looked ready to fight him over this, Keith quickly took a long swig.

            Huh. A little sour, but not too bad for alien alcohol.

            Lance huffed but went back to hugging his knees.

            “Get yer own, mullet...” He grumbled.

            Keith didn’t have a response to that and he filled the dawning silence with the splashing of wine as he took a few more long swigs. He didn’t realize just how much he’d missed Earth’s more recreational means of relaxing until he started to feel just a slight buzz coming on.

            “I know you don’ really have much t’ go back to…” Lance mumbled and Keith looked over to see the other was addressing the floor rather than his face. “But d’you ever miss it? Earth I mean…”

            Keith didn’t have to think about that.

            “Of course I do. I miss my home, and the Garrison and…”

            Well, Lance had been right there.

            He didn’t really have much waiting for him back on Earth.

            He had all the family he needed right out here.

            “We all miss Earth. It’s tough but it’s easier to just focus on missions than think about it.” He shrugged and looked up at the distant void of space, thinking back to his desert shack and whether or not it would even still be there when he got back.

            He looked down at Lance when he heard a soft sob and he could see the paladin had tucked himself into a ball and was trying to hide under the blankets again.

            “We’ve been gone fer so long. I’ve missed somuch…Christmas…our summer fiesta….everyone’s birthdays…”

            Keith nodded in understanding.

            “I guess it’s been a while.”

            Lance shuddered and sobbed again and Keith immediately felt like he’d said the wrong thing. But before he could backtrack and apologize, he was met with drunken rambling.

            “How much longer will’all this stuff take? How many more are we gonna miss? How many birthdays…what if everyone’s grown up by’the time I get back…what if we never…” Lance didn’t manage to complete that thought, his breathing gone shaky in his grief and panic, and Keith put his arm around him without thinking as if trying to help him contain his anxiety.

            “Don’t say that. Of course we’ll return to Earth.” He gently rubbed circles against Lance’s back and tried to get the other to calm down. It seemed that Lance was a bit of a weepy drunk but then again, he had every reason to be.

            Keith gently pulled Lance closer and let him rest his head on his shoulder, raking his fingers through his hair in gentle caresses that seemed to help the other slow his breathing.

            He couldn’t recall ever being so intimate with someone before but with the haze of alcohol stretched over Lance’s usual persona, it was easier for Keith to show these gestures without fear of being rebuffed.

            He took advantage of that, letting Lance cry on his shoulder as much as he needed to while the stars glittered above them almost mockingly in the face of their sadness.

            Keith couldn’t really tell how much time had passed, but at some point, Lance stopped crying and pulled away, rubbing his eyes.

            “I almost forgot…don’t move.” Lance stood up and swayed for a moment before seeming to collect himself and walking towards the opposite corner of the room where Keith noticed a plastic bag sitting on the floor. Lance brought it over and tossed it into the other’s lap lazily.

            “You owe me. Merry Christmas or birthday or whatever.” He mumbled and plopped himself back beside Keith who had already started to open the bag.

            Inside was the last thing he’d expected.

            It was a brand new BlipPhone 6, just like the ones Lance Pidge and Hunk all had. Keith stared at it in surprise before, opening the box steadily and pulling out the device.

            “I…Lance why…this must have cost a fortune.”

            “Yeah it did. But I had a buncha leftover GAC from chargin for autographs after our Voltron shows.” He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal even if it very much was. You didn’t just go off and buy phones for people.

            “But…I don’t understand. Why-“

            “So you can keep in contact while with the Blade, duh.”

            Keith blinked at Lance’s bluntness and the two stared at each other for a moment, waiting for some unspoken argument to start up.

            When it didn’t, Keith broke the contact and turned on the phone.

            “Pidge developed a software thingy that allows BlipPhones to get a signal over a spans of lightyears. Phone calls kill the ba-battery like crazy and it only works well if we’re in neighboring qua-quadrants or something, but it’s better than havin to use Coran and Allura just to try and say hi to you. I already loaded it’all in.” He explained through drunken stammers, reaching over and tapping the phone screen a few times to pull up contacts.

            “Pidgeon, hunky Hunk and Lancey Lance are already in there.” Keith scrolled through and sure enough, he could see three little icons with pictures of his friends lined up next to each other. He clicked on Lance’s and smiled when he noticed the other had taken a cheesy winking selfie on the new phone before loading it in.

            “Lance this is…really great. Thank you.”

            “Yeah, well'ya didn't have one and now ya don’t have any excuse not’ta check in with us.” He said, shrugging casually. Keith couldn’t even be annoyed at Lance’s blasé attitude considering his actions spoke in much louder volumes.

            He leaned over and hugged Lance again, this time with both arms in a fuller, more meaningful embrace. Keith was relieved when Lance returned the hug after a moment of shocked hesitation.

            “I’ll keep in touch. I promise.” Lance mumbled something unintelligible and buried himself in the hug further, tucking his face into Keith’s shoulder. The former paladin couldn’t find reason to let go and he instead moved to let Lance lean his back against his chest as they continued staring up at the stars, pulling the blankets around both of them in a cocoon.

            If the cuddling was strange, neither of them said so.

            “Promise me one more thing.” Keith looked back down at the other, surprised at how sober Lance sounded all of a sudden and waiting for him to continue. “Promise me this isn’t permanent. That you’ll come back to team Voltron.”

            Keith sighed at that, absently rubbing Lance’s arms to warm him.

            “I’m not sure I can make that promise. I don’t know how long the Blade will need me for.”

            “Voltron needs you more.”

            Lance’s voice sounded so genuine in that moment that Keith was taken aback and he looked down to see the other looking out at space with a pained expression.

            “We miss you. I miss you…you have to come back to us eventually. Ok? You owe me for the phone now so that’s a promise.”

            Keith smiled and nodded, looking up at the stars and feeling more at peace than he had in months.

            Whether they were here for another year, or maybe five more, he couldn’t imagine a better group of people to be there with. They were his family.

            And they’d always be a team.

            “Yeah okay. It’s a promise.”

   -------------------------------------------

            As the sun rose over the desert plains of Olkarion, eight tired faces could be seen loitering around an open bonfire warmth.

            Each held a sparkler in their hand, the fizzling sparks of light far less entertaining when being swallowed by the blinding sunrise.

            No one seemed to care.

            Once the sun left the horizon, they knew they would have to go back to being the universe’s greatest defenders.

            They knew this might be the last moment of peace they would get for a long time.

            They knew there was no guarantee they would even all be alive to celebrate the next coming year.

            Create more traditions.

            Share more memories.

            Make more smiles.

            But whether it was for a few more years, a few more months, or maybe just a few more days, they all knew they would continue to journey the cosmos together.

            Just for a little while longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 2018! 
> 
> I wrote this fic as a way to experiment with writing from the perspective of characters that aren't just Keith and Lance. 
> 
> And I also wanted to give a chance for the paladins to grieve or show a little remorse since the show doesn't often show that.
> 
> Consider this a happy, team loving friendship fic with just a teaspoon of Klance at the end because I have no self control.


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